Texas State Wrestling Strives to Reach Nationals

The Texas State men’s wrestling program possesses its strongest roster in years and hopes to use this as an advantage in its endeavor to reach nationals.

Colin McElroy, team member, said with all weight classes having at least one wrestler, the squad is able to compete better than it has in the past.

“This past weekend, the wildcats hosted a dual tournament, where several teams come together compete. The schools matched up head-to-head,” said McElroy, international studies senior. “They break it down by weight class, so it’s easy to find out the best wrestlers at each class.”

Texas State hosted the tournament at the Student Recreation Center and squared off against Texas A&M and Texas-San Antonio, defeating the Aggies, 34-24 and the Roadrunners, 40-18.

The National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) is comprised of 11 weight classes ranging from 125 to 285 lbs. The team has 20 members, and most are rookies, according to McElroy.

“We have a whole lot of newcomers this year, and a lot of them are improving by leaps and bounds,” McElroy said. “Many of these guys have never set foot on a mat before, and they’re coming out here and giving it their all and excelling.”

Texas State is in the Southwest Conference of the NCWA and competes against institutions such as Kansas State, Sam Houston State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Colorado and Texas. The club has an upcoming conference tournament in Arlington that could help Texas State’s wrestling club en route to its goal of reaching the national competition. Each team is allowed to qualify up to 2 wrestlers per weight class to the Nationals being held this year in Macon Georgia.

McElroy said the program is involved in activities outside of wrestling.

“We’re working out with New Braunfels High School, (and) we send two wrestlers out there to work with the students,” McElroy said. “We also are doing a food drive, and we’re planning on helping clean up the river.”

McElroy said despite its efforts, the wrestling club rarely gets attention, and Texas State is trying to make a change.

“We’re trying to say, ‘Hey, we’re putting in a lot of work, we’re doing great as a team, we might send people to nationals, and we would like some support from the college and the community,’” McElroy said. “We would also like to give back to the community, and as we’re building, we just want to do well and go from there.”